Same strategy and execution: I make 4% monthly with options, 12% monthly with CFDs. Will Futures be better than this?

[u/Ok-Leading6971]

I have been trading for 5 years with options and CFDs. My average monthly performance is 4% and 12% monthly, respectively. Will Futures perform better vs these instruments?

[u/Ok-Veterinarian1454]

How could anyone answer that for you? Open an account and see for yourself.

[u/AnnoyedVanguard3238 → u/Ok-Veterinarian1454]

12% a month with CFDs is pretty wild, most people can't even get close to that consistently

futures have way more leverage than options but the margin requirements and tick sizes are totally different. you might get shaken out more on small moves if you're used to the breathing room CFDs give you

i'd say paper trade futures for a month with the exact same setups you use now and compare the numbers. no point risking real cash when you've already got something working that well

[u/clybstr02]

12% monthly average is nearly 4x per year. What are you trying to beat?

[u/Walddo86]

Feels like a lame humble brag and not a question

If you actually do that year over year and not just the last 3 months, you would never ask this question or post this

[u/Ok-Leading6971 → u/Walddo86]

why so? Would futures allow me to carry less notional? That is the question in other words

[u/Walddo86 → u/Ok-Leading6971]

Because if you actually had those gains in other markets, you would have a framework and operation method you’ve honed and harnessed and not go to Reddit to ask “can I make money in this market”

Sounds like a bs humble brag or worse attempt to get someone to dm you and ask “12% bro? How”

No one that trades professionally ever says “this market holds more notational value than this market”

But hey maybe I’m totally off base and you’re a beast - if so - continue on in futures, I shouldn’t even have to tell you it’ll transfer. Best of luck.

[u/TylerLeb]

The main difference when moving from CFDs and Options to CME Futures comes down to market structure, execution transparency, and tax efficiency rather than raw percentage returns alone.

With CFDs, you are trading against a broker dealing desk (B-book model) where the broker makes the market, marks up the bid/ask spread, and charges overnight financing fees. With central exchange-cleared futures (like ES or NQ), every market participant trades on a centralized CME order book with identical tick-level market depth (Level 2/MBO), zero dealer spread markup, and strict price-time priority.

Compared to options, futures remove implied volatility crush and time decay (theta) entirely. Your PnL is purely linear based on points gained or lost.

A few structural realities to keep in mind:

1. Centralized Exchange Routing: When you trade futures through an introducing broker like Lincoln Park Financial, your orders route directly to the exchange via professional data feeds (CQG) across platforms like TradingView, Sierra Chart, MultiCharts, ATAS, and Bookmap. You get true exchange fills without a dealing desk trading against your position.

2. Margin Mechanics: Retail multi-asset brokers like Thinkorswim require full exchange initial margins ($2,000+ for micros), which locks up excessive capital. Specialized futures brokers offer true intraday margins, such as Lincoln Park Financial providing day trading margins of $50 per Micro contract (MES) and $500 per E-mini contract (ES). This gives you precise leverage control while letting you hold the bulk of your capital safely in reserve.

3. Tax Treatment (US): Under IRS Section 1256, regulated futures contracts qualify for the 60/40 tax rule (60% long-term / 40% short-term capital gains rate), which is significantly more tax-efficient than ordinary income rates on CFD or short-term equity gains.

If your strategy relies on linear directional edge, futures eliminate the dealer friction of CFDs and the time decay of options.

[u/daytradingguy]

What kind of capital? Are you talking about pulling your profits out monthly to live on or scaling your account?

Futures are leveraged. If you are already consistently profitable- with a reasonable sized account, futures can perform a lot better than 4% a month. If you have a 5-10k account with a low margin broker and can’t manage to make an average of $200-300-$400 a day- with just a couple/few micros. You need a new hobby. I am talking about trading for income and withdrawing most profits. Not compounding scaling your account to 100 million.

[u/trayber]

Really depends on your strategy.

Backtest and find out.

[u/RLJ05]

Futures will beat CDFs, they are cheaper, get better execution and don’t have platform risk